joshuago’s Bookmarks

The pattern: Company gets bought out. Users rejoice. Company lies fallow for months. Users grow impatient. Company's employees get farmed out to other Google projects. Company lies fallow for more months. Users get even more impatient.

Time has various levels of quality.

Grow organically. Have users from day one. Don't do a Hollywood style launch.

Tips for being a more productive programmer. Avoid distractions. Work in long stretches. Use succinct languages. Keep rewriting your program. Start small.

Run upstairs. A startup is like a mosquito. For potential acquirers, the most powerful motivator is the prospect that one of their competitors will buy you. The second biggest is the worry that, if they don't buy you now, you'll continue to grow rapidly and will cost more to acquire later, or even become a competitor. Users are the only real proof that you've created wealth. Wealth is what people want.

How to structure your CSS for a web application. Great for programmers who have to design because it emphasizes modularity and separation of concerns in CSS.

The founding document of The Economist.

Remember to ask the all-important question of why you're building a website, even if it looks like everyone else is enthusiastic about building one just for the hell of it. Everyone will be happier and better off if you ask.